Preparation and Optical Application of SiO2-TiO2 Composite Hardening Coatings with Controllable Refractive Index by Synchronous Polymerization

Abstract

The homogeneous SiO2-TiO2 composite sols were prepared by organic-inorganic synchronous polymerization with titanium isopropoxide and tetrabutyl silicate as precursor. The organic-inorganic composite hard coating with Si-O-Ti as the framework was prepared by adding compound crosslinkers (up-401) and 3-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH-560). The structure of the coating and the hardened film were characterized by infrared spectrum, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, particle size analyzer and thermogravimetry. The refractive index, transmittance and hardness of the hardened film were measured by ellipsometry, UV-Vis spectrophotometer and hardness tester. By adjusting the ratio of Si/Ti and optimizing the reaction conditions, the hardness of the hardened film could reach 6H, and the refractive index could be adjusted from 1.55 to 1.76. At the same time, the application of hard coatings on the surface of optical lens were studied.